Clemson to confer 1,200 degrees, honor S.C. Sen. Yancey McGill

Published: December 14, 2011

CLEMSON — Clemson University will confer approximately 1,200 degrees at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at the winter graduation ceremony in Littlejohn Coliseum. South Carolina Sen. John Yancey McGill will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree during the event.

The graduation ceremonies will be streamed live online at www.clemson.edu.

McGill represents Florence, Georgetown, Horry and Williamsburg counties. His current Senate committee assignments include Agriculture and Natural Resources; Ethics; Finance; Fish, Game and Forestry; Invitations; and Transportation. He also is on the executive committee of Senate Finance and chairman of the finance subcommittee on Natural Resources.

He is chairman of the North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. NESA’s primary objective is to enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base, recruiting new companies and expanding tourism-related development.

He also is on the board of directors of the Waccamaw Regional Planning and Development Council, and is a past chairman of the council’s board of directors and its Industrial Revolving Loan Committee. The agency offers planning, economic development and social services to aid in the orderly growth and development of the area.

Over the years, numerous groups have recognized McGill. Five associations and organizations have named him Legislator of the Year and three Senator of the Year. Other awards include the S.C. Association of Counties Distinguished Service Award, the Clemson PSA Service Award, the S.C. Advocate for Agriculture Award, the Primary Health Care Association Legislative Award and the S.C. Counseling Association Legislative Award. 

McGill is being honored for his commitment to higher education in South Carolina and for his support of Clemson’s public service and agriculture mission.

Having attended both The Citadel and Francis Marion College, McGill has been the recipient of honorary degrees from those institutions as well as Coastal Carolina University and the Medical University of South Carolina, for which he has served on the board of visitors.

He is a real estate broker and residential homebuilder in his hometown of Kingstree, where he got his first taste of politics as a member of the Kingstree Town Council and later as mayor pro tempore and as mayor.

END